Why CBT Hurts Our Cause

[grate_biff]

and why Ativan is the only thing that helps is beyond me and every medical professional I've talked to.

Really?

 

[PaulBe]

Can one who's not in serious physical pain and (tinnitus and hyperacusis is physical pain) tell another that CBT will help them? !

That sounds a bit like suggesting mutual suffering as a minimum requirement for a therapeutic relationship.

I wasn't meaning to advocate for CBT anyway, I just meant to point out why I think it appears to be there in the (pathetically small) list of therapies on offer to us. FWIW I think its a bit of a crock and grief counselling would probably be just as effective. I'm not saying any one thing works or not, I'm just saying that management of the stress response should be viewed as much from a physiological standpoint as any other, and that basic neuro-hormonal physiology plays a central role in driving the intense emotional reaction so many of us find ourselves stuck in, and maybe there should a be a greater focus on that in managing (not the same as treating) the overall tinnitus picture, especially in the early days, and in the (ongoing) absence of any medical/surgical solution. I really think I lost six months to a year being bogged down in emotional consequences but I think now this would have been shortened had I had access to a clear explanatory model of what was happening (that did not feel like a judgement on my coping skills) and a clearer therapeutic pathway based on that as a model for management/coping. That, after all this time, still appears to be what we are missing.

 

[Paul Wilson]

Really?

Unfortunately, yes. To be fair I haven't sought any further treatment since my psychiatrist put me on Ativan (no health insurance- U-S-A! U-S-A! lol but I do intend to seek further treatment when I can afford it). But yeah both ENTs, general practitioner, and two shrinks haven't been able to provide any explanation, other than possible correlation between my TMJ and my tinnitus (and I'm not totally ruling that out, but the fact that steroids seem to always makes my tinnitus worse has me leaning against that theory).

In the absence of an answer, I tried to self diagnose (which I don't normally do). One thing I think is possible is that due to years of nicotine use, my blood vessels may have constricted (since nicotine has that effect) and because the blood vessels that run in your inner ear are as thin as strings, my tinnitus finally became noticeably loud over two years ago. In other words, years of nicotine use caught up to me, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Another thing I've considered (highly speculative) is that a few hours before I noticed my tinnitus got louder, I was scratching my back and I felt one of my vertebrae pop. It didn't hurt, and I have no idea how that would cause a worsening of my tinnitus. But, again, just trying to come up with possible causes why my tinnitus seems to always have equal volume in both ears.

Another thing, I've always had this issue where the hearing in one of my ears becomes muffled for a few seconds, and gradually returns to normal hearing. It used to be a very rare thing, but is getting more frequent with age (especially this past year). Don't know if this has anything to do with my tinnitus. Wouldn't surprise me if it did. Though what the cause could be alludes me.


Anyways, I thank everyone who replied to my post and put forth well thought out answers respectfully. This really seems like a good and supportive community. From all the threads I've read, this one seemed the most heated but we tinnitus sufferers are understandably going to be passionate about this subject.

 

[Gl0w0ut]

I tried it. It did squat for me. Spent $$ and still suffer. Same goes for TRT. Many people have stated these treatments have failed them. I am glad it has helped some. It IS being touted as one of the solutions for tinnitus. It was recommended by my local health authority which is why I got sucked into it.

I had an ENT nurse literally tell me that the "gold standard" for tinnitus treatment was to learn coping strategies. It's insane. CBT can certainly be helpful for more severe cases, but it shouldn't be the end point of treatment.

 

[Harley]

I had an ENT nurse literally tell me that the "gold standard" for tinnitus treatment was to learn coping strategies. It's insane. CBT can certainly be helpful for more severe cases, but it shouldn't be the end point of treatment.

And this is precisely why the CBT hurts our case, if we want to circle back to the title of this thread.

As long as CBT is this golden standard for tinnitus "treatment", there is no need (or incentive) to look for a real cure.
This is why CBT needs to be removed from this status in order to advance forward, but that is next to impossible when a good number of sufferers speak in its favour or even preach it.

Once something becomes widely accepted and recognized as a valid treatment option, we are stuck with it, because money is always tight in health care and medical research.
It will be allocated elsewhere instead.

 

[WillBeNimble]

And this is precisely why the CBT hurts our case, if we want to circle back to the title of this thread.

As long as CBT is this golden standard for tinnitus "treatment", there is no need (or incentive) to look for a real cure.
This is why CBT needs to be removed from this status in order to advance forward, but that is next to impossible when a good number of sufferers speak in its favour or even preach it.

Once something becomes widely accepted and recognized as a valid treatment option, we are stuck with it, because money is always tight in health care and medical research.
It will be allocated elsewhere instead.

True. I hate that it's seen as the gold standard. It's just a way to try and make the suffering a bit less, not actually resolve it. Then again, the whole medical system when it comes to hearing care is rotten to its core. The ENT's don't care, cause there's nothing they can immediately do, the audiologists legitimately only exist to sell hearing aids to people, which require you to fuck up your hearing so they do nothing. Then GP's don't deal with it, because they don't see it as something they should be concerned about, it's not a measure of health for them.